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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27871501">i'll tie your shoes for you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/teahex/pseuds/teahex'>teahex</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Rated teen for mild swearing, Self-Indulgent, gone wrong, or right depending on how you look at it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:54:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,342</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27871501</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/teahex/pseuds/teahex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>The evening of their fifth anniversary started with Daichi throwing himself on the ground between their bed and the wall when he heard Suga enter the apartment, home an hour earlier than Daichi had expected. From his position against the wood flooring, Daichi spotted a number of socks under the bed that he had thought were lost to whatever demon lived in their washing machine. He considered calling out to Suga and telling him about the discovery since they had pondered the mystery at length just the day before.</p>
</blockquote>Proposing, Daichi realizes, is about as easy as you want to make it. Sometimes you just need a little help.
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>i'll tie your shoes for you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/devinsweeney/gifts">devinsweeney</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I appreciate you for checking out my writing! This was very self-indulgent, and I'll probably make some edits another day. I just wanted to write something kinda cute for daisuga. This started as me trying to find out how long I can avoid doing schoolwork but quickly became an exercise in avoiding both schoolwork and writing with video games. Now that I’ve finished that experiment, it seems that while my body has successfully escaped that form of suffering, my brain has actually been lost this whole time somewhere between August and September where one questions whether grad school is worth the time, money, unhealthy late night snacks, and impending sense of doom. This fic, though? I finished it in honor of the birthday of one of my best friends. Basically, I’m a very slow writer because of Procrastination and you have my friend’s existence to thank for this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The evening of their fifth anniversary started with Daichi throwing himself on the ground between their bed and the wall when he heard Suga enter the apartment, home an hour earlier than Daichi had expected. From his position against the wood flooring, Daichi spotted a number of socks under the bed that he had thought were lost to whatever demon lived in their washing machine. He considered calling out to Suga and telling him about the discovery since they had pondered the mystery at length just the day before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Instead, Daichi shoved the velvet ring box that he had been fiddling with to calm his nerves into his front pocket and stood, feeling more than a little foolish. He wasn’t their cat Lemon, caught in the middle of knocking something breakable off the TV stand. There was nothing to hide, except maybe Suga’s wallet because he would insist on paying for dinner.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>Fuck</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>. Was Daichi prepared for a lifetime of sometimes-playfully sometimes-not-so-playfully wrestling with Suga over the bill? Financing dates was one of the few topics for which they had no explicit agreements. It wasn’t like there needed to be an official tally, but Daichi wasn’t sure what to do if Suga didn’t allow himself to be pampered at least the tiniest bit. What if Suga slipped something into his vows about paying for dinner?</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“I’m home!” Suga’s voice drifted into the bedroom, punctuated by the suctioned sound of the refrigerator being opened.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Welcome home!” Daichi called back. Everything would be fine. Suga loved him. He loved Suga. Paying for dinner wasn’t particularly important compared to those facts. Daichi could cook meals when Suga was being stubborn about the matter. They had five years of experience working through such minor disagreements.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Daichi returned to his original task of choosing a shirt, which he did to the soundtrack of Suga rummaging through their kitchen for a way to spoil his appetite. He had narrowed his options down to two shirts. He could go for a dressy navy button-down, although formality was the opposite of anything Daichi and Suga. Plus, Suga always made fun of Daichi when he was over-dressed for any occasion. Otherwise, he could go with a plain white t-shirt with paint stains suspiciously in the shape of cat paws, which was possibly too casual for a five year anniversary date but definitely better suited to their plans.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“I didn’t take you as the procrastinating type.” Suga stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe and holding a cup of pudding smothered with whipped cream while eyeing Daichi’s predicament. His smile almost gave the impression that he was unaware of all the times Daichi had scrambled to finish things at the last possible second.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Eating before dinner?” Daichi knew that it didn’t make much of a difference. Suga had a bottomless stomach and would surely have room for their meal and at least two rounds of dessert. Putting down endless amounts of food was like a secret talent that he made sure to use daily.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“We could do janken. That one if you win and this one if I win,” Suga suggested, ignoring Daichi’s question and gesturing to the button-down and t-shirt respectively.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Wait, what’re you wearing?” Daichi eyed Suga’s current attire. He was still in the jeans, white button-down, and auburn cardigan he had worn to work.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Suga waved him off. “I’m gonna dress up. Five years is a pretty big occasion, after all. It’s like somewhere around halfway to the average length of a marriage. Daichi, thank you for being not-married to me for a sizable chunk of the duration of a marriage.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Daichi shook his head, turning back to the shirts. Lemon had entered the room unnoticed and was making herself comfortable on the t-shirt, unintentionally settling the issue. Really, though, it had been an inconsequential matter among the ocean of them. It probably ranked below paying for dinner.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“See,” Suga said. “Lemon thinks so too. You look good in blue, anyway. I’m gonna put this in the sink and then we can go.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Suga punctuated his statement with a wave of his spoon and quickly left Daichi to his own devices again. Daichi stood next to the bed, vaguely wondering where in that sequence of events Suga was going to change into nicer clothes. Lemon yawned. </span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“I love him too,” Daichi agreed, giving Lemon a few scratches behind the ears.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>::</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>It was an anniversary tradition for Suga to choose the restaurant and Daichi to pick the post-dinner activities. Suga always made a show of contemplating all the available options, but they both knew that they would go to the same 24-hour diner that they’d had their first date at. It was the site of years’ worth of celebrations for special occasions.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>They arrived at the perfect time, nestled somewhere between the remnants of the after work dinner crowd and the onset of the late night meal crowd. Suga, the bastard, had found time to change. He was dressed in black jeans and a muted orange t-shirt. Daichi, conned by Suga’s promise to wear clothes of equal formality and Lemon's insistence on sleeping on his other option, was dressed in the navy button-down along with his own pair of black jeans to make the outfit more casual.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span><span>“People are gonna think you’re the asshole,” Daichi had warned when they left the apartment. “They’re gonna think, ‘</span><em>That poor boy’s date didn’t even think it was worth it to look nice.</em>’ And they’ll be right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Suga had laughed, punching Daichi on the arm and responding, “Oh please, we’re going to a diner. Besides, I’m so handsome that people will think you’re the one who didn’t dress up enough.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>You are, you ugly fucker</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>, Daichi thought as he watched Suga chatter with the waitress about the emotional benefits of eating breakfast food for dinner. A corner of the ring box pressed into Daichi’s thigh. He was sure it would leave a mark after resting there through the entirety of dinner. A temporary tattoo to commemorate the evening. There was no doubt in Daichi’s mind. Clothing choices ranked below paying for dinner which ranked below proposing and the less than half-percent chance that Suga might even consider saying no.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Daichi.” Suga kicked him under the table. “What’re you getting?”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Oh.” Daichi looked down, trying to process the words on the menu in front of him. “I’ll just have a breakfast sandwich with bacon on it and a side of pancakes."</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>The waitress jotted down his order. "Eggs scrambled okay?"</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"Uh." He watched Suga, who was staring at him and preparing to judge his choice. "Yes, please."</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"Sure thing. I'll go get this started for you. Holler if you need anything."</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"Scrambled, Daichi?" Suga demanded as the waitress left. "Really?"</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"I'm sorry." Daichi held his hands up. Food choices were one of the most important things in Suga’s life. Probably more important than Daichi himself. "I panicked. I didn't really look at the menu."</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"You always get the same thing. Seriously, Daichi, now there won't be-"</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"Any runny yolk, I know," Daichi finished. He couldn’t find it in himself to feel guilty, though. Suga had ordered eggs of his own, cooked over easy.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"What will I dip my toast in now," Suga lamented. "What were you even thinking about so hard? Too distracted by my beautiful face?"</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>Yes</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>, Daichi’s brain supplied. The yellow lighting turned Suga’s hair an unhealthy tint. It didn’t do his skin any favors either. He was the best thing Daichi had laid eyes on all day, though. The gentle folds at the corners of his eyes and the dimple showing when he smiled were enough to short-circuit Daichi’s brain. The line of his head resting in his hand, elbow on the table, body curved forward over the metal surface and into Daichi’s space reminded Daichi of countless early morning coffee dates. Mischief and kindness radiated from Suga in equal measures, unchanged from the uncontained chaos he had brought into Daichi’s life from their first meeting.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“As if,” Daichi teased just to see Suga scowl. He’d long ago memorized the exact set of Suga’s lips when they playfully bantered.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Oh please.” Suga kicked Daichi under the table again. “I’m a treasure.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>The entirety of their meal continued like that, the same as any other conversation between the two. Daichi was confident that his shin would bruise, another temporary souvenir from the evening. By the end, Daichi had almost forgotten about paying for dinner. Suga made a show of asking him if he had his wallet, though, and Daichi quickly realized that it wasn’t in his back pocket. Suga, as if he already knew the script for the whole night, had stolen it at some point between returning home and the end of dinner. Daichi couldn’t find it in himself to be more than slightly exasperated.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>If he’ll let me marry him</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span><span>, Daichi thought, fidgeting with the ring box under the table while Suga talked with the waitress again, </span><em>I guess having dinner covered isn’t so bad</em>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>::</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Grab us some beers?” Suga looked at Daichi expectantly, body angled towards Tetris. Daichi waved Suga off, unbothered at being the errand boy while Suga bolted towards his favorite games.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Suga was a champion at arcade games and generally revelled in the unbridgeable skill gap between him and Daichi. However, more than anything, he craved the adrenaline rush that came from a single-player round of Tetris or Ms. Pac-Man. Daichi held their drinks and observed as he always did while Suga played. The glow of the machines sharpened all of Suga’s normally soft features. His concentrating face became even more intense, serious enough to look like he was in the middle of a volleyball match. Daichi questioned whether he should disrupt Suga’s focus for the fun of it.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Do I get a turn next?” Daichi nudged Suga with his beer.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Suga didn’t even flinch at the cold condensation on the can. “I haven’t even finished one game. Let me get at least five in before we switch.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span><span>“</span><em>Five?</em> How about we take turns?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Suga turned his whole body towards Daichi, not even caring that the tiles started stacking up higher. The pull of his eyebrows contrasted with the childish pout on his face. “Two games at a time. How about that, Daichi?”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Can’t we just play two player?” The negotiating was largely performative. Daichi already knew Suga’s answers. It was the same every time they went to the arcade.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“In a sec, I promise.” Suga grinned as he restarted the game. “See, I’m already on my second round.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“It’s fine, you can play as much as you want. I’m gonna go play some games too,” Daichi said, gesturing broadly with his can of beer. He left the other one on the floor next to Suga, who was too engrossed in Tetris to do much more than grunt in acknowledgement.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Anyone else might have felt neglected if their boyfriend chose to play games by himself on their anniversary when they were planning to propose. Not that Suga knew Daichi was going to propose. It wouldn’t have made a difference, though. Suga’s ability to do whatever he wanted while quietly enjoying doing it in Daichi’s company was another talent of his. They were experts at quantity over quality time. Daichi wouldn’t have had it any other way.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Left to his own devices, Daichi sought out a push game full of candy. It contained a consistent assortment over the years that included ring pops. It was exactly what Daichi needed. It would be something fun to give Suga. Something to keep him from suspecting what was coming later that night. Daichi could already picture Suga’s reaction.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“A ring pop, Daichi? Seriously?” Suga would demand. “Giving me something this temporary doesn’t bode well for our relationship.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Daichi would pretend to take back the offered candy and say, “Well, okay. I guess I’ll keep it for myself. Give it to some other lucky guy.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Suga would take it and say, “Too late! You can’t change your mind. It’s mine now. Do a better job next year with the gifts, though. A real ring would be nice.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Daichi would roll his eyes and suggest that maybe Suga could be the one to buy a ring.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>On his third go at the machine, it spit out a ring pop. Daichi quickly deposited his reward into his other pocket so as not to accidentally take the real ring out too early. There was a part of him more excited to give Suga a ring pop than an engagement ring, and he could only wonder what five years with Suga had done to him to feel that way. Not that it was a bad thing by any means.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>::</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>Before Daichi could process what was happening, he was careening into the fountain. The fountain, a centerpiece of the local park, had seemed like the perfect place to wait for his friends. They would meet in a place that was easy to locate, waste some time talking about nothing, and then walk to the nearest cafe to study for their upcoming exam.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>Instead, he was hurtling face first into the water. It didn't even happen in slow-motion. Daichi had no time to contemplate all of the people who were present to bear witness to his suffering. He had no opportunity to consider the combination of the biting winter temperature and his soon-to-be soaking clothes. He barely had time for self-pity to register in his brain.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>"I can't believe you made me wait so long, you fucking cheater!" a man Daichi had never met yelled as Daichi hit the water. "I know you were meeting that guy from three doors down and one floor up right before you came here. You think you're so sneaky. Well, you let the cat out and I caught you when I chased her upstairs. Maybe if you were more responsible with our pet, you could've gotten away with it a bit longer. I can't imagine the level of confidence you must have to try this shit. You really fucked up big time. You're never going to meet someone else as simultaneously handsome, hilarious, thoughtful, and good at cooking as I am."</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>"What-" Before Daichi could formulate a response, the man grabbed two fistfulls of Daichi's shirt and hauled him out of the fountain.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>"Oh thank god." The man released Daichi once he was standing on his own two feet again. "There were only two ways that was gonna go. He was either going to leave to avoid the drama or stay and try to comfort me."</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>"What the fuck?" Daichi knew he hardly appeared threatening while dripping water everywhere and shivering. He was more incredulously questioning than menacingly exclaiming.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>"Sorry." The man laughed, seemingly unbothered and not the least bit apologetic. "Some random dude has been flirting with me for a while, so I figured yelling at my cheating bastard of a boyfriend might scare him off. Thanks. It was a short scene, but you played your role super well. As payment, I'll let you have my name and number. I'm Sugawara Koushi, but I'll even give you the privilege of calling me Suga."</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>Despite the absurdity of the situation, Daichi felt his heart hiccup several times, just the slightest disruption in his body's functioning at the sight of Suga's devilish grin. As he called himself from Suga's phone, he pondered the strange and sudden intersection of his path with Suga's. It was a burst of flavor to his normally bland life. The first new person he'd exchanged numbers with since starting university. Someone who could easily either slip between his fingers and out of his life or possibly become a best friend or boyfriend. A once-in-a-lifetime chance.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>"Buy me dinner," the words dove off Daichi's tongue before he could rethink it. "Not that I don't appreciate getting your name and number, but it's winter. I think I deserve a little extra for getting pushed in a fountain when it's this cold."</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>Suga laughed, taking his phone back. "You're pretty convincing for a cheating ex-boyfriend. Sure thing, but I pick the place."</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>On the short walk home to his nearby apartment, Daichi texted his friends that something had come up. He didn’t admit that he was too soaked to possibly do anything in public. There was no way to explain the situation without it sounding like the plot of an imaginary romcom. Besides, there was something special about the moment that Daichi wanted to keep for himself. It was as if Daichi would wake up if someone touched it. As Daichi trudged up the stairs to avoid making a mess of the elevator, he received his first message from Suga.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>i forgot to ask - what’s your name</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>Daichi replied, </span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>Only if you tell me where we’re going to dinner</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>only if you tell me what day and time</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Saturday 6pm?</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>diner on the main road a few blocks from the park</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>It would be Daichi’s first date, if one could call it that, to someplace other than a fancy restaurant. It would be his first date, if Suga would allow him to call it that, that the other person paid. It would be his first date, if Daichi dared to hope that’s what it was, with a random but beautiful stranger he met in a public place. Daichi supposed they were already exes of a sort, in another reality, so there had to have been something between them at some point in that past life. Daichi was determined to uncover it.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <span>It wasn't like he believed in fate. He didn’t believe in soulmates. There wasn’t much to be found if you wanted a miracle. Daichi did, however, believe in opportunities and making things happen with your own two hands. He believed in taking risks and maybe finding something great from it.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>::</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Daichi pulled Suga to a stop in front of the fountain. It was the site of their first memory together. The beginning of them. There was nothing particularly picturesque about their relationship. Somehow they had skipped straight to being exes. They made it back to each other, though. It was unconventional. Sometimes slightly offbeat. Usually completely unscripted.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Suga.” Daichi inhaled, gripping both of Suga’s hands in his own. “I still remember the day that we met. You shoved me into this exact fountain in the middle of winter and-”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“In my defense,” Suga responded, “I had a pretty good excuse. Plus, I don’t think it’s the exact same fountain. They’ve had to fix it up a few times. I mean, I guess it’s conceptually the same fountain.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Not only do you always push me around, you’re always interrupting me," Daici continued, undeterred. "Keeping my half of the covers at night is the most intense challenge I've ever faced. You're such a sore loser at video games during the rare times when I'm better, and you never go easy on me when I'm worse. You eat enough food for three of you and still steal from my plate too. The cat likes you most and you probably like her most too. Trying to find anything in our kitchen is confusing enough to be a best-selling mystery novel because you never put things in the same place.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“You’re not exactly winning any awards for being romantic right now, Daichi,” Suga teased.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"You are the biggest pain in the ass I've ever met,” Daichi declared. “That's one of your best qualities, though. You're so unapologetically you, and somehow I've gotten the privilege to witness that every day. I love that you find fun in everything. I love that you're honest to a fault and won't hesitate to fight someone if they don't like it. I love that your memory is good enough to know everything about me. I love that you give me either space or company when I need it. I love that you drive me everywhere when I don't feel like taking the subway. I love that you can't really cook but try to anyway when I'm too tired from work. I like everything you do because I know you care and choose to include me in each new adventure. </span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"If it was the end of the world tomorrow, I'd be satisfied that this was my last day. Any of our days could've been the last. Being with you isn't always easy or without argument, but every moment with you is fun. In the middle of everything that’s happened, I felt loved by you. I feel loved by you. I hope you feel the same."</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Before Daichi could continue, that perfect end-of-the-world moment morphed into an incomplete sentence. Daichi knew there was supposed to be more. Yet, he couldn't find it. It had fallen off into the blank space between years of shared time and space and hours of practicing to an unamused Lemon. He couldn't even begin to place what was going wrong. Was it nerves? Maybe a bit, even though it wasn't as if he and Suga had never talked about marriage before. It wasn’t like he thought Suga would say no to spending the rest of their lives, or at least a significant number of years in addition to the past five, together.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span><span>There was the </span><em>what if</em>, though. It was a precariously balanced ladder looming over Daichi, ready to topple. What if Suga would've preferred a proposal with all of their friends present? What if Suga had wanted to propose? What if Suga didn't like the ring? What if Suga wanted to wait longer? What if Suga didn't want to participate in the construct of marriage? Suga probably didn't care about those things, but <em>what if</em>? These worries were so much more monumental than clothing and dinner bills. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Why didn’t you tell me we were doing anniversary speeches?” Suga whined, halting Daichi's descent down a staticky mental slide. “Wait, no - I should’ve known. Five years is, like, five percent of a century. That’s a big occasion. Fuck. I didn’t prepare anything.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Daichi laughed. At Suga. At himself. "It's fine. I didn't want it to be a big deal. I mean, what I’m trying to say is-"</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"No no no, Daichi." Suga threw a hand over Daichi's mouth. "It's my turn now."</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>The corners of Daichi’s eyes crinkled from the smile he was holding back. He pulled Suga’s hand down instead of licking it like Suga would have done if their positions were reversed. He held it between his own again, except this time he wasn’t the one giving a speech. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Go ahead.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"You're terrible at improv, so I know you rehearsed that for hours and it's unfair that I didn't get to.” Suga squeezed Daichi’s hands and kicked him lightly in the foot. “You’re really good at that. You always do things for me. You love to surprise me. I feel like I can’t keep up with you sometimes. Even when it’s just being nice to each other, I want to compete. But that’s the one thing I’ll never beat you at.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“I’ve spent the past five years coming to terms with that. Learning what it’s like to lose at something. And to be loved. You’ve taught me a lot, Daichi. You’ve taught me patience. You’ve taught me understanding. You’ve taught me trust. You’ve let me take you on the wildest adventures, but I’m somehow always trying to catch up to you in all the places where it counts. I love that. I love chasing after you. I love constantly doing, becoming, something new.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Suga freed himself from Daichi’s grasp in favor of pulling the ring pop Daichi had given him at the arcade out of his back pocket. He ripped open the packaging.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"I obviously didn't plan for any of this, but it's time, Daichi. I'm done waiting."</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Daichi's heart launched itself up his throat as Suga dropped to one knee. The moonlight reflecting in Suga’s eyes illuminated something unidentifiable. Something warm and reassuring but wholly unfamiliar.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>"Daichi, you already know that you're my favorite person. I don't believe in pre-destined soulmates, but you already knew that too. Besides, you don’t either. What are the odds of having only one person in the whole world for ourselves? I do believe in chosen soulmates, though. We pick who we want to be with and then we make it happen. I chose you. You chose me. We coexist in all the right ways.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“I don’t really care about a piece of paper that validates our relationship. I don’t care about fancy jewelry. I care about you. I’m committed to spending as much as my life with you as possible. I like building my life right next to yours. So, Daichi, marry me. Or be in a not-married relationship with the purpose of spending forever together with me. I don’t have a ring to put on your finger or a photographer to capture the moment, but I don't think it matters. Like I said, I don't care, and I don't think you care either. I just want to say the words and know.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Only you would order someone to marry you. Aren’t you supposed to ask?” Despite his joking tone, Daichi felt his stomach tighten and moisture in his eyes.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“Oh c’mon, Daichi. This is hardly a traditional proposal.” Suga took hold of Daichi's left hand.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>“I have an idea,” Daichi offered as Suga slid the ring pop onto his finger. “I’ll give you a ring of your own once you’ve got a proper one for me. Then you can ask for real.”</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>The ring safely nestled in Daichi’s pocket was anything but heavy in that moment. Daichi was secure in the knowledge that he would try again and do it all the way after the fresh start morning would bring. Suga would call him a liar for giving him a ring before he could buy one for Daichi.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>For now, though, the moment was perfect. Safe. At the bottom of Daichi’s list of worries.</span>
  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for taking the time for this little story! Feel free to stop by for my next fic, whenever it finds its way out of the haze of The Author Has Too Many Fic Ideas And Not Enough Motivation. It could be in a month. It could be in two years. In the meantime, you can find me on <a href="https://twitter.com/teahex">Twitter</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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